


Connie's Magical Problem

by Swordaperson



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, High School, Occult
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 07:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13231140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swordaperson/pseuds/Swordaperson
Summary: After Connie's latest trip to the doctor failed to come up with anything concrete that was wrong with her, she decided to take matters into her own hands. However, a long journey through various search engines and social media platforms leaves Connie with an interesting a choice before her.Instead of a doctor, she's found an alchemist...





	Connie's Magical Problem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheDoomkitten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoomkitten/gifts).



Connie hugged her jacket closer as a stiff, winter breeze washed over her. She really wished her family hadn’t moved, _again_ , especially this deep into winter. The beach had been nice and warm and sunny. Here? Dreary and cold. Not exactly Connie’s favorite.

She looked over her shoulder to see if that teenager was still watching her. He wasn’t, thankfully. Connie knew she must have looked odd, after all it wasn’t everyday a middle schooler came to the high school asking where they could find a particular student.

Even Connie had to admit that it sounded pretty sketchy. But she needed to find this person. Hopefully they’d be willing to help her with her problem.

Connie stopped at a crosswalk. She reached for her glasses to clean them, only to feel empty air and remember that she wasn’t wearing them. She frowned and instead tried to get a sense of direction. The student she’d asked had said to check the tables next to the cafeteria. He’d also added that the buses picked up on the other side of the school, so only weirdos would be at the tables after the day’s last bell had rung.

The way he added the last part told Connie basically all she needed about the person she was looking for. Or at least what their peers thought of them.

So the two of them would have _that_ in common at least.

Connie followed the path, towards the building that looked most like the cafeteria. She scanned the tables in front of it and, as promised, there was someone sitting at the table, mostly obscured by the sizable book they were reading.

Steeling her nerves, Connie approached the person. Once at the table, she paused and cleared her throat. The person made no reaction. Brow furrowing, Connie spoke, her breath visible in the air. “Excuse me. Are you Peridot Rabara?”

There was a beat of silence, before the book shut with a snap and was laid down on the table, revealing the person who had been reading it.

Connie hadn’t really been sure what to expect, but even then, the teenage girl in front of her still managed to surprise. Sharp green eyes studied Connie from behind large, round glasses. Her skin was pale and her cornsilk hair was a frizzy mess, looking as if it hadn’t been combed in weeks.

But what _truly_ caught Connie off guard was how she was dressed. She looked like she just gotten in from the beach, wearing a tank top and not even a jacket to cover her shoulders.

Connie must have been staring, because Peridot frowned before asking sharply, “Yes? And who are you?”

“Oh! Right! I’m sorry,” Connie sputtered. “I’m- I’m Connie. And I was told… well, that you could help me.”

Peridot raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Really. And what is… wrong with you?”

“Well…” Connie said, slowly approaching the table. She suddenly felt _very_ self-conscious and almost wished she could just back out of this conversation completely and leave. But she’d come this far…

“I think I might be cursed,” Connie said simply.

Peridot was silent for several long, grueling seconds, only studying Connie from behind her thick glasses. Finally she said, “Cursed. As in, from a witch?”

The corners of Connie’s mouth twitched as she gulped. “Or something like that, I think.”

“And what exactly makes you think you’ve been cursed?” Peridot spoke in a slow, deliberate voice. As if she were still trying to gauge the conversation exactly.

“Well, I haven’t been sleeping well recently. And when I’m alone… I sometimes just have random bursts of dread and worry.”

Whatever interest might have been in Peridot’s expression quickly dropped away. She sighed, before saying, “Have you tried going to a doctor to get a recommendation for a therapist?”

“I don’t _need_ a therapist!” Connie said.

Peridot shrugged. “All you’ve described so far is maybe mild depression. I can’t help with that.”

“Okay, then how about this,” Connie retorted. “I stopped wearing my glasses.”

“...And?”

“And… and I stopped wearing them because I didn’t _need_ them anymore,” Connie said. “It’s like… my eyes repaired themselves.”

That seemed to hook her.

Peridot leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. “I see. That is certainly very odd.”

“A lot of things have been,” Connie said. “And for your information, I have been to a doctor. But they didn’t find anything wrong.”

“Of course not,” Peridot said. She folded her hands on her book and continued, “And why have you come to _me_ , exactly?”

“Well, I mean I’ve _heard_ that… you know… You’re an alchemist.”

That actually managed to elicit a smile from Peridot. She chuckled, “Someone is informed.”

“I don’t know about that,” Connie said. “I just did a lot of local searches on the Internet. Checked a lot of Peoplebook and Tamblr posts.”

Peridot snorted. “Sometimes people should mind their own business.” Connie shifted her weight to her other foot, but said nothing. Peridot continued, “But yes. If… whatever ails you is supernatural in nature, I may be able to help you.”

Connie felt a knot of tension in her chest loosen, only for it to retighten when she realized that, going into this next stage, she had _no_ idea what to expect. “So what do we do now?”

Peridot rose from her seat, tucking her book under her arm and joined Connie on her side of the table. Connie noted, with slight amusement, that Peridot was barely taller than her.

“I need to run a simple test first,” Peridot said. “I… have some ideas of what could be causing your problems. But I need to narrow the field a little first. Follow me.”

Peridot began walking towards the parking lot. Connie followed her, only to notices that Peridot’s left leg was a prosthetic. And it looked more than a little beat up, having notable dents and dings in it.

Connie must have made some involuntary sound, as Peridot looked over her shoulder. “Hm?”

“Where are we going?” Connie quickly asked.

“To my office.”

* * *

 

Her “office” as it turned out was a very old looking pickup truck. There were several unmarked boxes of varying sizes in the bed and in the back seat, Connie saw pillows, a blanket, and more books. Peridot began scrounging through the back seat, leaving Connie to hug herself against the frigid wind.

“Aren’t you cold?” Connie asked, glancing over at the tank top and cargo shorts adorned Peridot.

“No,” Peridot answered simply. “A few dehydrated, fortified salamander livers sprinkled over my morning cereal keeps me as warm as I need.”

“Oh,” Connie said. “And that works?”

Peridot shrugged without turning around. “I’m not shivering.”

Connie rolled the answer around in her head for a few moments before responding, “And you wonder why people make Peoplebook posts about you?”

Peridot did turn around at that, narrowing her eyes at Connie. “I _don’t_ wonder. What I’m doing doesn’t bother them, so they should just mind their own business. As I said.”

She went back to looking through the back seat of her truck and Connie couldn’t really argue with that answer. After all, her own strategy at school was mainly ‘you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone’. Though were she Peridot, she’d probably leave the magic stuff at home so she could better blend into the background.

If this even _was_ magic. Connie didn’t really know where alchemy fell on the science to magic scale. Or if there even was a scale.

Connie sighed. She just didn’t know much of the specifics that were happening right now.

“Ah. Here we go.” Peridot slid off the back seat, a bottle filled with amber liquid in her hand. There was something else inside the bottle, resting at the bottom. But Connie couldn’t make out what it was.

“I’m not going to have to drink that, am I?” Connie said, grimacing. “It looks… terrible, really.”

“Of course not,” Peridot said, taking the cap off the bottle. “All you’ll have to do is hold this.” She turned the bottle upside down over her hand, but none of the liquid spilled out. Instead what came out what a small, almost perfectly round orb. Its size as well as its coloring made it look almost like a marble.

“What is it?” Connie asked.

“A bit of colored glass,” Peridot answered simply. “But it’s been soaking in my mixture of vinegar and crushed dragon teeth, so it-”

“Wait, _dragon_ teeth?” Connie felt her eyes grow wide in surprise. “There are dragons?”

Peridot rolled her eyes as if that was one of the dumbest questions she’d ever heard. “Don’t be stupid,” she said. “Not anymore. That’s why dragon teeth, scales, and especially preserved organs are so valuable.”

“So… there are no more dragons?”

Peridot answered in a voice not unlike a patient parent explaining a concept to a young child. “There hasn’t been a confirmed sighting of a dragon in over two thousand years.”

“Oh. Okay. Right,” Connie said, unsure how to feel about the revelation that apparently dragons were extinct.

“Now, if I may continue?” Peridot asked. Connie nodded silently. “Right, hold this in the palm of your hand.

Connie did so, taking the marble and placing it in the center of her right hand. She was going to ask another question when suddenly the marble lit up and began glowing with a bright, teal colored light.

“Well,” Peridot said simply. “That answers that question.”

“What question?” Connie asked, still staring at the glowing marble in her hand. “Does the color mean something?”

“Not the specific color, no. But that bit of colored glass as been soaking in my mixture of crushed dragon teeth and vinegar,” Peridot explained. “It’s become a magical reactant.”

“And it’s… reacting to me,” Connie said.

Peridot nodded. “Well, to whatever magical aura is surrounding you.”

“So that means I _am_ cursed?”

“Not necessarily,” Peridot answered. “It means you have some kind of magical something on you. But that could really mean anything.” She plucked the marble from Connie’s hand, its glow instantly faded and disappeared. Peridot then put it back in the amber liquid and screwed the cap back on.

“So there is something… magical happening with me,” Connie said. “Is there anything you can do to fix it?”

“Maybe,” Peridot responded. She placed the amber liquid bottle back into the truck and removed another bottle. This one looked like a water battle and its contents were clear. “First, take a sip of this. You don’t have to swallow. Just taste.”

Connie took the bottle and unscrewed the lid. She then tilted the mouth of the bottle a little into her mouth. Almost as soon as the liquid touched her tongue, she grimaced and gagged at the near overwhelming taste. She spit out what of the liquid had been in her mouth and quickly pressed the bottle back into Peridot’s hands.

“Didn’t taste good, huh?”

“No!” Connie gasped. “It tasted like- like…”

“Sour milk and raw eggs?”

“Or _something_ ,” Connie replied. “It was nasty, whatever it was.”

“Well, that’s actually good,” Peridot said, capping the bottle and casually tossing it back into the pickup. “If it tasted sweet, that would have meant you were under the effects of a curse, or any other number of maleficent effects. But since it didn’t, you’re not.”

“Then…” Connie said, regaining her composure. “If I’m not cursed, what’s wrong with me?”

“That’s a harder question to answer,” Peridot answered with a sigh. “I suppose I could have you just ingest brews until the magical effect fades.Though that would take a while… and mixing all those potions in your stomach could prove… detrimental.”

Connie frowned, her stomach already gurgling at the prospect. “There’s no option B?”

“There is, but…” Peridot tilted her head to the side. “Do you have anywhere to go this afternoon?”

“Not really. I’m suppose to be at tennis practice, so my parents don’t expect me to be home until later.”

Peridot arched an eyebrow. “Tennis? In the middle of winter?”

“Says the person who’s wearing a tank top and shorts. In the middle of winter.”

Peridot pursed her lips. “Yes. Fair enough. But back on point. If you have nowhere else to be, then I believe I can help you.”

“How?”

“An associate of mine,” Peridot answered. “She may be able to help you.”

‘May be able to help’. Connie didn’t really like those odds. Still. She hardly had a choice. At least if she wanted another decent night’s sleep.

“Okay,” Connie said, balling her fists and doing her best to steel herself. “What do we need to do?”

In response, Peridot closed the back door of the truck and opened the passenger side door.

“Get in,” Peridot said. “We’re heading to the suburbs.”

* * *

 

The suburbs ended up being a longer than Connie had anticipated. A drive that hadn’t been helped by the awkwardness of the drive. Peridot had tried to get conversation going a few times, but considering her topics of choice included ‘How's school going’ and ‘Some weather, huh?”, Connie concluded that Peridot was as lousy at meeting new people as she was.

After some time, the truck slowed and Peridot pulled into the driveway of one of the houses. It looked rather nondescript as most houses in the suburbs tended to be. Peridot killed the truck’s engine and pocketed her keys, hopping out of the truck without a word. Connie did the same.

They walked to the house’s front door and Peridot rang the doorbell. From inside, Connie heard someone yell, “Coming!” A few seconds later the door opened, revealing a very tall young lady. Connie noted she was wearing sunglasses; reflector shades by the look of them, as Connie could see herself in them.

“Hello, Garnet,” Peridot said. “Is Ruby home?”

Geez, Peridot,” the young woman, Garnet, smirked. “You’ve been coming around often. Must be doing a lot of ‘experimenting’.” Garnet put air quotes around the last word.

Peridot just frowned and repeated, “Please, is Ruby home?”

Garnet smirked wider and walked away, calling into the house, “Mama, the Gremlin’s here for you.”

Connie heard Peridot muttering angrily under her breath as a new person approached the doorway. It was another woman, though she wasn’t as tall as the woman that had answered the door, though she looked older. An apron was tied around her waist and her hair was held back with a red scarf.

“Peridot,” the woman said, with just the slightest tinge of annoyance. “You were just here last week. Don’t tell me you need more supplies _already_?”

“No, no. Nothing like that, Ruby,” Peridot said. “I am here on other business.”

“Uh huh. And I assume it has to do with this girl you’ve brought with you?”

Connie swallowed hard as she remembered she was part of this conversation. “Er, yes,” she quickly said. “Peridot is helping me with a… a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“The magical kind,” Peridot answered.

Ruby was silent for several seconds, before stepped aside, gesturing towards them. “Come on in. Let’s see what we got.”

The two of them entered the house and right away Connie felt warmer, though not so warm that she felt like she needed to take off her jacket. She felt just right for how she was dressed. Connie glanced around what she assumed was a living room. It looked fairly normal. Pictures hung on the wall and there was TV on the far wall, a bookshelf filled with books next to it.

“So,” Ruby said, shutting the door behind them. “Start from the beginning. What’s the problem?”

Connie explained her symptoms again, Peridot adding the test with the marble, as well as the foul tasting liquid. Ruby silently nodded through all of it and when they were done, she considered Connie for several moments before asking, “About how old are ya, Connie?”

Connie blinked at the unexpected question. “Um, well I’m turning thirteen next month.”

Ruby nodded. “Right, that lines up.”

“You know what’s wrong with me?”

“I have a guess. A pretty good guess really. Luckily for you, I’ve seen this before,” Ruby said. “Though I need to do something first, so we know for sure.” Ruby walked past them and opened a closest behind them. She pushed back a rack of hanging clothes and began digging through it. “So, Peridot,” she said, her voice muffled from inside the closest. “When are ya going to let me enchant that leg of your’s? I can make it more durable than titanium.”

Peridot frowned at Ruby’s backside. “Yes, I know. But as I have told you every time you have asked, the offer is not needed. Soon, I will not need this… prosthetic.”

“You know I’ve told you before about you-”

“Enough, Ruby. You are not my mother. I’m not here for a lecture.”

Ruby didn’t say anything in response and even Connie could feel the odd tension that had settled in the room. Luckily, however, Ruby soon emerged from the closest, a dull red cube in her hand. Every side of it seemed to be blank, except for the top, which had an intricate series of drawings on it.

“Alright, Connie,” Ruby said. “Take this.”

Connie took the cube from her and turned it around in her hands. “What is this? Another… uh, magic reactant?”

“Sort of,” Ruby said. “But this is something special I whipped up myself… geez, been years now.” She chuckled to herself. “Everything before my daughter was born has kinda blended together.”

Connie blinked before something ‘clicked’ in her mind. “Oh! Garnet! The one who answered the door. She’s your daughter,” Connie said, before chuckling nervously at the sheepish look Ruby was giving her. “Sorry.” She blushed. “I… just kinda put that together.”

Ruby laughed. “No, no. It’s alright. Yeah, Garnet’s my daughter. I’d introduce you to my partner, but she’s busy and won’t be home until later.”

“Well I’m sure they’re very lovely,” Connie said.

“Yes,” Peridot added. “Sapphire is… something.”

Ruby laughed again before continuing. “Anyway, Connie. You see that rune on the top?” Connie nodded. “I’m going need to put your hand over it. You’ll probably feel an odd sensation, but you need to keep your hand there, okay?”

Connie looked down at the cube in her hands. It looked fairly harmless, though with the afternoon Connie had thus far, that didn’t really mean much. “This won’t like, hurt me, will it?”

Ruby gave her a warm smile. “I promise it won’t. But, if you’re feeling uncomfortable or unsure about this, we don’t have to go forward.”

However Connie shook her head. “No. I- I want to do this. At this point I just want to know what’s wrong with me…”

“Understandable,” Ruby said easily. “Alright, when you’re ready, put your hand on the rune.”

Connie took a deep breath and released it, placing the palm of her hand on the rune. For several seconds, she felt no different. But suddenly, began to feel a tingling sensation in her hand. It slower got bigger, spreading from her hand to her arm, to her torso and finally all over her. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t exactly feel comfortable either. It felt like it was jostling her insides and her stomach in particular didn’t really appreciate that.

“How long do I need to hold this?” Connie asked.

“Not much longer. Look.”

Ruby pointed at Connie and, confused, Connie looked down and gasped out loud with shock. Coming from her chest was a single, long strand of light, colored the same shade teal that Peridot’s marble had glowed. The strand of light wrapped itself around Connie for snaking away and tapering off into nothing.

“W-what is that?” Connie stammered.

Connie felt a hand on top of hers and she saw Ruby take the cube from her. “That is your essence. Or part of it, at least,” Ruby explained.

“ _Gods_ ,” Peridot muttered. “I’ll admit. Being soul connected would not have been one of my guesses.”

“ _Soul_ connected?!” Connie gasped, a sense of terror beginning to gnaw at her from inside.

“Easy, Connie,” Ruby said gently. “Easy. Look.” Connie looked back down at her chest and saw that the strand of light was disappearing. “It’s still there, it’s just not visible anymore,” she clarified. “But yeah. But what Peridot said is true. You’re soul connected.”

“What does that _mean_?” Connie asked, trying her best to keep calm. “If I’m losing m- my essence, what does-”

“It means,” Ruby interrupted gently, “that your essence has extended beyond your body and has connected to another essence. That essence could be anything. It could be another person, it could be an animal, it could even be a plant. Anything that has an essence.”

Connie was silent as she tried to take this all in at once. Slowly, she spoke, “So… is this harmful?”

“Not at all,” Ruby answered. “I’ll admit, this is really more of my partner’s area of expertise. She’s the seer. But from what I understand, the sudden spikes of panic and anxiety, not sleeping well, even your eyesight suddenly getting better, this is because the essence you’re connected to is feeding into you.” Ruby paused as she tapped her chin. “Whoever you’re connected to, they’re probably magical in nature. That’s why your sight’s gotten better.”

“Essence repairs eyes. And keeps me up at night” Connie said dully. “That… seems odd.”

“The anxiety and insomnia are logical,” Peridot piped in. “You're feeling the vague emotional state of whatever you’re connected to.”

“Basically,” Ruby said. “I mean, Sapphire would probably say it’s more complicated than that, but that’s how I understand it at least.”

“Since you’re feeling specific emotions, I believe we can cross out any plant life as your connections, as well as certain animals,” Peridot said. “Still, that leaves a lot of options.”

“So how do I find the person I’m… connected to?” Connie asked. “Is this like a destiny kind of thing?”

“Maybe,” Ruby smiled. “Being in a relationship so long with a seer has kinda taught me that believing in destiny isn’t always the best move. But, still. You’re more likely than not to eventually run into the person you’re connected to.”

“I see…”

Ruby sighed, her smile faltering a little. “I’m sorry if it’s not exactly the answer you wanted,” she said. “I know you were hoping for a sort of cure and this isn’t exactly something I can help with.”

“No, it’s okay Miss… um…”

“Please. Just Ruby is fine,” Ruby chuckled. “I’ve already got Garnet’s teachers calling me Miss. I don’t need anyone else doing it, thanks.”

Connie actually managed to smile. “Right. Well, it’s okay, Ruby. Thank you for helping me figure out what’s wrong.”

“No problem, kid,” Ruby said, patting Connie on the shoulder. “And hey, for what it’s worth, being soul connected is pretty rare. So whoever the person is that you _are_ connected to, they’re probably going to be an important person in your life.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Connie said softly, her mind still feeling like it was spinning. “I guess I’ll find out…”

* * *

 

The drive to Connie’s house hadn’t been as long as the drive to Ruby’s. Which was good. It was getting late and Connie was already going to get chewed out for missing her curfew.

Peridot stopped her truck in front of her parent’s townhouse. “This is it?” she asked.

“Yeah, it is,” Connie answered, unbuckling her seatbelt. But she continued to sit in the seat for a moment before going on, “Thanks for your help, Peridot. I know you didn’t have to give it, so I appreciate it.”

Peridot huffed in response. “Well, yes,” she said. “Though, I do regret that I wasn’t able to _really_ help you.”

“It’s alright,” Connie sighed. “Just knowing what’s up with me is… oddly comforting, I guess.”

“I suppose. But take this anyway.” Peridot reached over to Connie, a slip of paper between her fingers. Connie took it and written on it her two phone numbers. “The top number is Ruby’s home phone. If things get… significantly worse, calling her would be the best idea.”

“Okay,” Connie said.

“And the bottom number is my cellphone,” Peridot continued. “If you still can’t sleep well or the panic gets really bad, call me and I’ll brew something up to calm your nerves or help you sleep.”

Connie smiled, small but genuinely. “Thanks, Peridot.”

Peridot nodded. “You best get in. It’s getting late and no doubt your parents are wondering where you are.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Connie opened the door and hopped out onto the street. “Good night, Peridot.”

“Good night, Connie,” Peridot answered.

Connie shut the truck’s door and after a moment, Peridot drove off down the road leaving Connie in front of her house and the difficult problem before her of trying to act like everything was still normal to her parents…


End file.
